Kale Salad

I made this for a potluck dinner because it is super quick (especially if you use bags of pre-cut kale), it can be done ahead of time, it is transportable, and it is best at room temp. When I volunteered my kale salad the response was less than enthusiastic and when I put it on the table, the girls graciously served themselves as small a portion as possible. Once they tried it, however, they loved it, eating every last morsel I brought.

Kale Salad

2 bunches of kale

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbl salt

2 tsp pepper

2 bartlet pears

1 cup sliced almonds

1 tbl oil

1 tsp salt

Steam kale: if you have a steamer, great, use that. If your kitchen (and budget) is too small for such luxuries, use a strainer/colander set over a large pot. Either way, get some water boiling while prepping the kale.

If using whole bunches of kale, cut out the stem and chop up into whatever size pieces you like – I would cut each leaf into two strips, stack them, and then roughly cut into ¼ inch strips.

Working in batches, steam kale for 3-5 minutes (the kale should turn a deeper shade of green but you don’t want it to start wilting). Put in the fridge to cool while getting the rest ready.

Peel each pear and slice into similar size pieces as the kale. Whisk together lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper – then whisk in the oil. Pour over kale, toss, and add in the pears.

Heat a tbl of oil in a pan, add in the almonds, and give them a toss to coat in the oil so when you now add a tsp of salt, it will stick.

* If you are making this to have on hand for the week, I would keep the almonds in a Ziploc to add as you go. If you are serving it up immediately, toss ‘em in.